[News-Heads]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
As the winter storm turns its attentions Northward, residents here are still slip- sliding and shoveling.
We'll have several live reports on travel conditions.
(-----------)
[ANCHOR=KIMBERLY]
And the winter weather claims at least two lives in Virginia.
Those stories are straight ahead.
[WX-Head]
[ANCHOR=Leo]
[SS=None]
The first major winter weather event has come and gone leaving everything white and slick..I'll have your warmer forecast coming up.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly 2-Shot]
News 7 at Noon starts right now...
[Video-Open]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]
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[VO-NAT]
While many people try to dig out from the winter storm, the weather is being blamed for two deaths in our region.
(------------)
[Salem-Body]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=12]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=Net]
[GRAPHIC=News 7]
The cold weather has claimed a life in the Roanoke Valley.
A woman in her 50s, apparently died from exposure overnight in Salem.
Police say the victim's body was discovered on Keagy (KEG-gee) Road.
Her car was involved in a minor accident, and she apparently walked to a medical building under construction nearby.
A construction worker found the body around six this morning.
Police are not identifying the woman until relatives are notified.
[Patrick-Fatal]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=None]
The winter weather is also blamed in the death of a Southwest Virginia teenager.
State police say 14- year- old Patrick County High School student Matthew Dugger was killed yesterday on his way home.
School had let out early because of the weather.
Witnesses reportedly told police that the vehicle he was riding in skidded off a snow- covered road and overturned into a creek.
Police say the female driver, also a teenager, received minor injuries.
[Roanoke-WX]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=tbr]
[TAPE#=02-51 14;14]
[GRAPHIC=Winter Weather]
The wintry mix of snow and freezing rain is making it difficult to get anywhere this Thrusday. That's whether you're driving or flying.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Kimberly/Rachel Microwave;]
Rachel Cannon has checking out the conditions and joins us now with an update.
[LIVE=Rachel/FULL]
[SUPER=@Rachel1;]
[SUPER=05-Roanoke;]
((ROLLCUE:..but some are passable.))
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Salem;]
[SUPER=01-Jason Bond/Virginia Department of Transportation;]
[SUPER=01-Jackie Shuck/Roanoke Regional Airport;]
[RUNS=:50]
[OUT Q=coming from the north.]
[LIVE=Rachel/FULL]
[SUPER=05-Roanoke;]
Rachel adlibs.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Kimberly/Rachel Microwave;]
[School-Closings]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Some colleges have already cancelled night classes .. and several school districts have already decided to cancel classes tomorrow. We'll update the list on your screen throughout the afternoon and evening.
(+++++++)
[TAKE Web Page FS]
And for continuous updates of all weather-related announcements, you can go to our home page any time at wdbj7-dot-com.
(----------)
[Danville-Snow]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=tbr]
[TAPE#=02-43 1:35:22]
[GRAPHIC=Winter Weather]
In Southside, the problem was not the snow, but sleet and freezing rain.
Much of the region only saw two to three inches of snow, but that quickly turned to thick sheets of ice on the roads.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Kimberly/Justin STARLINK;]
Justin McCleod joins us from Danville.
Justin, what is it like down there now?
[LIVE=Justin/FULL]
[SUPER=@justin1;]
[SUPER=05-Danville;]
Justin adlibs
((ROLLCUE:..Rolled from Truck.))
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Herbert Travis/Danville Resident; :10 -QUICK]
[SUPER=01-Tracie Glass/Motorist; :42]
[SUPER=01-Steve Bohannon/Danville Public Works; :58]
[RUNS=1:39]
[OUT Q=you don't see it until you get into it.]
[LIVE=Justin/FULL]
[SUPER=05-Danville;]
Justin adlibs
[DOUBLE BOXES=Kimberly/Starlink;]
[L'burg-Weather]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=02-49 6:48]
[GRAPHIC=Winter Weather]
Up the road in Lynchburg, it's much the same story.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Kimberly/Steve/Microwave;]
Steve Smallshaw is in our Lynchburg bureau..
Steve, walk us through what this morning's been like there.
[LIVE=Steve/FULL]
[SUPER=@ssm1]
[SUPER=05-Lynchburg]
We've been living the definition of "wintry mix".. just in the past few hours we've watched it turn from sleet to freezing rain back to sleet and snow at the same time.
If just watching it has been confusing, trying to drive in it or plow it has been even tougher.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT ]
[IN Q=Snowy days]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg; :00]
[SUPER=01-G. W. Keller/Virginia State Police]
[SUPER=01-Mark Courtney/Lynchburg Airport Manager]
[RUNS=:00]
[OUT Q=really works that well.]
Snowy days are supposed to be quiet.
This was an exception.
[natsot sleet falling Tape #1]
[RUNS=02]
While central Virginia slept, Mother Nature was making a racket.
Hours of noisy sleet soon gave way to this..
[natsot 8:05:10 snowplow #2]
[RUNS=02]
...and this.
[natsot shoveling 10:02:46 #2]
[RUNS=02]
Slick conditions led to numerous accidents, none of them serious.
Authorities say most people simply misjudged the conditions and were driving too fast.
[SOT 8:42:17]
((TROOPER G.W. KELLER/VA STATE POLICE: WE'RE EXPECTING A LOT OF CRASHES TODAY. IF PEOPLE WOULD SLOW DOWN WE CAN HOLD DOWN THE AMOUNT OF CRASHES THERE ARE. WE DON'T ENCOURAGE ANYONE TO COME OUT TODAY AND SUGGEST THEY STAY HOME UNTIL THE ROAD IS CLEARED UP.))
[RUNS=15]
[OUT Q=is cleared up.]
That was the same message air travelers were getting this morning.
Crews had been hitting the runways at the Lynchburg airport all night, but were having trouble finding the right solution.
[SOT 9:34:21]
((MARK COURTNEY/LYNCHBURG AIRPORT MANAGER: THIS IS AN ART AS MUCH AS IT IS A SCIENCE, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO RUNWAYS AND SO WE HAVE DIFFERENT TYPES OF EQUIPMENT, WE HAVE BROOMS, BLADES, SNOWBLOWERS AND ALL THESE COMBINATIONS WE NEED TO TRY EVERYTHING DEPENDING ON THE CONDITIONS AND SOMETIMES NOTHING REALLY WORKS THAT WELL.))
[RUNS=17]
[OUT Q=works that well.]
[LIVE=Steve/FULL]
[SUPER=05-Lynchburg;]
(airport expected to re-open around noon)
[DOUBLE BOXES=Kimberly/Steve/Microwave;]
We got about four inches total here.. the main roads in Lynchburg and the counties are slushy but passable.. crews are now starting to hit those secondaries while the weather improves. Kimberly?
[Tease1]
[HARD MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
Coming up next on the newscast, the White House says it has solid evidence that Iraq is lying about having weapons of mass destruction.
(--------------)
[VO-NAT ]
Also, Wall Street stops trading shares of one of the nation's largest airlines. We'll tell you why after the break.
(---------------)
[music up full]
[comm1]
[Australia-Bushfires]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=Net]
[GRAPHIC=Fire]
It's hard to imagine that it's summer ANYWHERE, when you're looking at the wintry scene we have.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Sydney, Australia;]
But in Australia, hot summer weather has spawned destructive wildfires on the outskirts of Sydney.
Numerous homes and cars have become casualties in dozens of fires, even as firefighters and home owners arm themselves with hoses.
For months, fire officials have been warning that Australia's largest city faced an especially severe bush fire season this year.
They add that they haven't faced a threat like this in nearly 30 years.
(------------)
[Iraq]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=Net]
[GRAPHIC=Iraq]
White House officials say they have solid evidence that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.
A spokesman won't say what the evidence is -- but he says the information will be provided to weapons inspectors.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Baghdad, Iraq;]
Meanwhile, the mixed signals keep flowing out of Iraq.
A day after an Iraqi vice president accused the U-N weapons inspectors of being spies, President Saddam Hussein is calling on citizens to SUPPORT the inspections.
He says the inspections give his country a chance to prove that the U-S is wrong when it claims that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.
(------------)
[United-Airlines]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=Net]
[GRAPHIC=None]
You could call it a free fall for stockholders with shares in United Airlines' parent company U-A-L Corporation.
Trading in the airline's stock has been halted today on Wall
Street -- after falling nearly 60 percent.
Experts say it's almost a certainty that the world's second- largest carrier will file for bankruptcy.
If it does, it would be the largest bankruptcy in the history of the airline industry.
Mike Fierberg reports.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Denver, CO;]
[SUPER=01-Mike Fierberg/CBS News;]
[RUNS=:00]
[OUT Q=Fierberg for CBS News.]
((
United has been losing money since before the terrorist attacks of 15
months ago.
The company needs the loan guarantee to have the cash to make hundreds
of millions of dollars worth of debt payments due starting Monday.
United's CEO, Glenn Tilton, would only say the company would "consult
with union leaders and other stakeholders and quickly determine what
step to take next."
Few doubt that step will be into a federal bankruptcy court...the only
way United can sidestep the debt payments without losing valuable assets
it needs to keep operating.
Once in bankruptcy, the airline can, with a judge's approval, back out
of many financial commitments...such as labor contracts with tens of
thousands of workers...and its leases, including gates at DIA and other
airports.
The airport has analyzed its finances if United scales back. The
conclusion: cutbacks of up to 30% would not create major problems. And
the hope is, since United makes money here, it won't downsize nearly
that much.
(SOT) THERE MAY BE SOME IN DENVER, BUT WE DON'T THINK IT WILL BE
SIGNIFICANT. AND WE ARE PREPARED TO HANDLE THAT.
But Colorado's struggling economy seems ill-prepared to handle what
could be many layoffs fron United's DIA workforce.
The airline has already planned two scheduled reductions early next
year; and a payroll reduction of 9-thousand. But that could be just the
beginning.
MIKE FIERBERG FOR CBS NEWS.))
[NRV-Weather]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=02-37 1:57:26]
[GRAPHIC=]
As the storm winds down, things are beginning to wind up in Montgomery County.
With the roads beginning to clear, folks are slowing getting back on the roads and back to normal.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Myranda & Kimberly/Microwave;]
New River Valley Bureau Chief Myranda Stephens joins us to tell us how things are looking.
Kimberly, while folks are getting back to business...
[LIVE=Myranda /FULL]
[SUPER=@Myranda1;]
[SUPER=05-Blacksburg;]
most of them are getting down to work in a different way.
((ROLLCUE:...))
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Everywhere you turn]
[SUPER=03-Christiansburg; :00]
[SUPER=01-Crystal Webb/Maintenance Worker; :11]
[SUPER=01-David Burke/V-DOT; :36]
[RUNS=1:00]
[OUT Q=be careful]
[NAT SOUND]
((Everywhere you turn, folks were out cleaning up the mess, the storm left behind.
On the streets, in the parking lots and along the sidewalks.
[SOT 52:51]
[RUNS=04]
((IT'S A JOB THAT HAS TO BE DONE-LAUGHS))
Crystal Webb and her little helpers were out early this morning, shoveling snow in front of the Christiansburg Post Office.
[SOT 52:54]
[RUNS=05]
((REPORTER: HOW FAR HAVE YOU GOTTEN? NOT FAR AT ALL, IT'S PRETTY SOLID THIS MORNING))
And from the small shovels to the big shovels.
V-DOT trucks have finished up their work on the main roads, but, officials say it'll be awhile before they can get to all of them.
[SOT 58:16][COVER BETWEEN BITES!!!]
[RUNS=:10]
((DAVID BURKE: ESPECIALLY IN SOME OF THESE BACK ROADS THAT ARE GRAVEL ROADS, THAT ARE HARD TO GET TO AND THE SNOW CAN ONLY SALT STREETS THAT HAVE ASPHALT 58:26))
[SOT 58:35]
[RUNS=:04]
((SO IT'LL BE AWHILE BEFORE ALL OF THE SNOW AND ICE IS OFF SOME OF THOSE BACK ROADS. 58:39))
In the meantime, officials warn those who ARE able to leave their driveways, to be careful.))
[LIVE=Myranda /FULL]
[SUPER=05-Blacksburg;]
Now V-DOT is reporting moderate driving conditions for both Interstate-81 and 460.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Myranda & Kimberly /Microwave;]
And MINOR driving conditions for Interstate-77, through Wythe, Bland and Carroll counties.
[Tease2]
[SOFT MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
Coming up next on the newscast,
(-----------------)
[VO-NAT ]
we will see how other regions are dealing with this week's winter storms.
(-----------------)
[MUSIC UP FULL]
[COMM BREAK #2]
[National-Storm]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=Net]
[GRAPHIC=]
The storm has been a winter wake-up call, even though winter is still officially more than two weeks away.
New figures say the storm has caused at least 13 traffic deaths across the country.
Aleen Sirgany has a look at how the blast of winter is affecting the nation's capital.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Washington, DC;]
[SUPER=01-Angela Martin/Washington, DC Resident;]
[SUPER=01-Frances Twenig/Washington, DC Resident;]
[SUPER=01-Aleen Sirgany/CBS News;]
[RUNS=:00]
[OUT Q=Sirgany, CBS News, Washington.]
(
MOTHER NATURE HAD NO MERCY WITH HER FIRST REAL PUNCH OF THE SEASON.
THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE IN THE NATIONS CAPITAL WOKE UP TOA BLANKET OF THE
WHITE STUFF COVERED EVERYTHING IN SITE.
(NAT-SOT/MOS)
"IT FEELS GOOD, "
PRETTY BUT NOT PRACTICAL.
(fast : Q & A : ANGELA MARTIN/DC RESIDENT. .
"how many layers do you have here....i'm warm"
(nat of "no school, no school)
SCHOOLS AND SOME BUSINESSES WERE CLOSED TODAY BUT THE GOVERNMENT DIDN'T
SHUT DOWN.
(SOT) FRANCES TWENIG/DC RESIDENTTC
"I LOVE IT BUT I DON'T HAVE TO TAKE A KID TO SCHOOL AND I DON'T DRIVE SO
I CAN AFFORD TO LOVE IT."
(NAT)SNOW SHOVELING
PREPARING FOR THE FIRST FLAKES OF THE SEASON, CREWS RUSHED TO GET A
HANDLE ON THE STORMSHOVELING.
(NAT)PLOWING
AND PLOWING...AS FAST AS THEY COULD.
(nat of plowing)
THE WINTER STORM THAT CAUSED HAVOC FROM TEXAS TO VIRGINIA HAS KNOCKED
OUT POWER FOR MORE THAN A MILLION CUSTOMERS IN NORTH CAROLINA ALONE.
AND THE BAD WEATHER IS BEING BLAMED FOR AT LEAST SIX TRAFFIC DEATHS.
THE FEAR IS, THE CONDITIONS WILL BECOME EVEN WORSE.
(SOT) Plow Driver, Philadelphia
The roads are getting bad already. Were trying to get salt on em.
Keep the traffic flowing. But its coming down pretty good right about
now.
(STANDUP)
FORECASTERS ARE PREDICTING AS MANY AS TEN INCHES OF SNOW COULD FALL ON
THE DC REGION....AND AS THE STORM CONTINUES ITS FAST PACE TO THE
NORTH.....NEARLY 8 INCHES OF SNOW COULD FALL ON PARTS OF NEW YORK AND
NEW JERSEY.
))
[Stocks]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE# none]
[GRAPHIC=stocks]
On Wall Street at Noon, the DOW was DOWN 100 points. The NASDAQ has lost 14.
[super=460-y/100/y/14;]
[tease3]
[SPORTS MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
Coming up next on the newscast,
(----------------)
[VO-NAT ]
Congress wishes a happy birthday to a historic Senator.
(---------------)
[MUSIC UP FULL]
[COMM BREAK #3]
[S-Dazzle]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=DAZZLE]
The Dazzle's game for tonight has been postponed.
The game with the Greenville Groove has been rescheduled for March 4th.
Fans can exchange their tickets for any remaining home game.
[Strom-Thurmond]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=None]
And finally today--
President Teddy Roosevelt was in his first term of office when Senator Strom Thurmond was born.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-File Tape;]
Today the soon- to- be- retired Senator from South Carolina is celebrating his 100th birthday.
Thurmond is not only the oldest and longest- serving Senator in the U-S, he also becomes the ONLY one to hit the century mark while still in office.
The World War Two veteran has been invited to the White House for a celebration tomorrow.
His lengthy career in the Senate ends next month, when he steps down.
(------------)
[Quickcast]
[WXPRO/FULL]
FINAL LOOK AT THE WEATHER
[REPRS@CL]
SUPER=X4031; Fax/Copyright Noon/Weekends
[SUPER=X4030; e-Mail/Copyright Noon/Weekends]
by SS